Movie Review: "Smokin' Aces"

Two movies combined within one, and that’s not exactly a good thing.

Starring Ben Affleck, Alicia Keyes, Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, and Common. Written and directed by Joe Carnahan. “Smokin’ Aces” is about Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven) a magician turned gangster turned snitch. After a $1 million bounty is put on him by the mobster who took him under his wing, it’s a race to the penthouse to see who is going to save or kill Buddy Israel. In the chase are two FBI agents (Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds) who are trying to keep him alive due to the deal he’s brokering to the FBI. Add to that two female contract killers (one of which is Alicia Keyes), three crazy foreign guys who master in mayhem, a killer whose fingernails are bit off, another killer who makes masks of those he impersonates, and three bounty hunters (one of which is Ben Affleck) who are hired by a cross-dressing lawyer (Jason Bateman).

I had expected a lot from this movie, having watched the trailer and been a big fan of Carnahan’s previous efforts: “Blood, Guts, Bullets, and Octane,” “Ticker,” and “Narc.” However, I waited a while to see it because of the mixed reviews. So, here is my take.

The movie starts incredibly hyper-kinetic/frenetic, explaining the “who’s” of the story. I will say that it was some of the coolest and craziest shots I have ever seen, edited faster than I could think. I felt like, “This is going to be sooo awesome.” The first half of the movie travels at a speed that rivals “hit the ground running.” Somewhere around the middle the pacing changes to slow, as if all the energy the movie had was spent and we’re cruising on the downhill denouement. I found myself yawning more than once.

Not that it was bad. The focus of the story changed from the disjointed scramble for Buddy Israel to… the story of Ryan Reynold’s character. And, that’s where the problem really lies. The story. The movie pulls in multiple directions: the chase for Buddy Israel, the death of FBI agent Heller, and the finale with Reynolds, who does the one right thing he feels. Too much was poured into this movie, and the end felt too dramatic for an action film. I imagined, “What if ‘Kill Bill’ had been edited into a two-hour movie?” It would’ve probably come out like this. Too many characters, too many storylines and not a clear sense of direction. I don’t know how this happened, especially given Carnahan’s track record.

As for my recommendation, wait for video. The performances are worth watching, and the editing is a great lesson for those who are looking into learning film editing.

I hope Joe Carnahan’s next venture fares better.